1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a heat-radiating structure and a plasma display device including the same and, more particularly, to a heat-radiating structure in which an uneven shape is formed and a heat sink is additionally installed to improve heat-radiating efficiency.
2. Related Art
A plasma display device is a type of flat display. A schematic structure of the plasma display device and a principle for driving the same are as follows: a discharge gas is sealed between substrates on which a plurality of discharge electrodes are formed, a discharge voltage is applied, phosphor is formed in a predetermined pattern by ultraviolet rays generated by the discharge voltage, and the phosphor is excited whereby a desired image is obtained.
Plasma display devices can be manufactured with a small thickness of less than several centimeters. In plasma display devices, a large screen can be realized and a view angle greater than 150° is wide. Thus, plasma display devices have recently replaced previous display devices.
A plasma display device includes a plasma display panel (PDP) in which an image is realized, a chassis base which is substantially parallel to the PDP, a driving circuit board which is disposed behind the chassis base and which drives the PDP, a front cover in which the PDP, the chassis base and the driving circuit board are accommodated, and a back cover.
In the plasma display device, a signal transmission means, such as a tape carrier package (TCP), is widely used to transmit an electrical signal processed by the driving circuit board to the PDP. The TCP includes integrated circuit (IC) chips and a flexible interconnection portion combined with the IC chips. The TCP is formed in a tape shape and thus has flexibility. In addition, a plurality of elements can be mounted on the TCP, and thus, the size of the driving circuit board can be reduced so that the TCP is widely used.
The TCP is protected by a cover plate. The cover plate is combined with the chassis base using a plurality of screws. At this point, the cover plate pressurizes the TCP so that heat generated in the IC chips when they are driven can be smoothly radiated. The combination of the IC chips with the TCP is small, approximately 2 mm×6 mm. However, a large amount of heat is generated in the IC chips when they are driven. Since the TCP is closely adhered to the chassis base using the cover plate, heat generated in the IC chips is radiated toward the chassis base. The chassis base is generally formed of a metallic material, such as aluminum (Al), having high thermal conductivity. However, a chassis base formed of plastic having low cost and excellent processibility is widely used.
When the chassis base formed of plastic is used, heat radiation toward the chassis base is not smoothly performed. Thus, most of the heat generated in the IC chips should be radiated toward the cover plate.
However, since the cover plate is a simple planar shape or a simply bent plate having an “L” shaped cross section, the cover plate has a poor heat-radiating performance. Thus, in this case, a large amount of heat generated in the IC chips is not smoothly radiated, which causes a malfunction.